Mix it up Media Exhibition

Here are a few photos of the exhibition just before opening on Thursday night.
Nicky Downer AM opened it for us and we had the three district Mayors and wives and our local MP Michael Pengilly as well as heaps of other people so it was a good night.
We sold well too.
Yesterday as well as children we had their parents for dinner and we had gone out for a brilliant lunch at Pt Willunga but have now almost fallen in a heap we are so tired.
I have been madly trying to pack and sort out stuff as tomorrow morning Wendy and I head off for the Textile Forum at Ballarat.
I wont be home until next Saturday and then may well and truly fall in a heap!!

Evie. my mother and Will

My poor mother was rather overwhelmed when we arrived this morning and wasnt really sure who her great grand children were. These are our son Simon' s children over from Melbourne for part of the holidays.

They have been really good and they were not really going to get up to Adelaide today as we had a very full day but Tabby's children were all down with a vomiting wog so we didnt want them to go there as was originally intended.
My mother is beginning to not look like my mother but at nearly 97 not doing too badly I suppose
So with lots to keep them amused, thank goodness for playstations etc they survived very well and John and I learnt how to play a game of golf using paper and pencil. It was really quite fun.
I am just so busy so my blogging will be a bit hit and miss.

Book cover

I made this out of crumpled and painted brown paper bonded to calico. A pre made bit of something from some lesson that is in the to use later box was cut out and sewn on to the front.
I know I used one of my Indian wooden print blocks but I am not sure if this was a paper cast or using moulding paste, could have been a bit of both then painted.
The book is a little one with hand made Indian paper in it.
I am attempting to keep up with children, ponies etc, thank goodness Fenella is home so now I dont have to do the feeds any more.
They actually did very well at the Grand National show with Rivington Royal Hiccup managing a top 10 in both the leading rein and the small show hunter so well done Hiccup, my little mare wasnt well, it is a 2 day trip from here to Sydney and the Galloway did reasonably well considering he is very young and the number of entries.
I have now finished off all the things I am taking to the exhibition so I can relax a bit.

Tags. and thank goodness the end of daylight saving.

I have been playing with ideas on how to use up the many paper clay pieces I made ages ago and then remembered I had the samples of laminate that I had also got ages ago, gesso'd them and then using impasto gel glued the pieces to them and made a bit of texture, then painted all over, used my lovely Moonshadow mists and when dry a tiny bit of treasure gold.
Interestingly the scans look rather as if I have a sunken image in the center when in reality it is higher.
As I am doing a class on Making bags out of paper with Isobel Hall I thought I would take a few to sell at Forum, they make great handbag tags, I just need to get some chain etc and they will be finished.
A very tiring day yesterday, one of the mares had a very late foal and I had to hang around until I was sure it could drink and raced into the farmers market to get green veg, then up to Adelaide for a get together where we were making a doll, had to wait around until 6 before I could go down to the airport and collect the children, who arrived safely but a tiny bit late and then I had to drive home in the dark, which with my funny eyes I hate and try not to do too much night driving.
Thank goodness daylight saving has finally finished, as Will said driving home but its pitch black and it is only just after 8 o'clock.
We have had it for nearly 6 months and it is far far too long and I wish the powers that be would get the message. End of Feb is fine, early April is stupid.

More rust

I have had a pretty awful couple of days, my back is giving me hell after only 2 days of feeding the ponies and yesterday my older sister rang to say she thought our mother had cancer, well she may but they are still doing tests and are not sure and dont want to do radical interference considering she is nearly 97.
I would really love it for her sake if she just went to sleep and didnt wake up, but I can see a rather nasty time ahead for her if this is the case.
so a fairly sleepless night last night.
Today I was in so much pain I sat and watched the wonderful Double trouble dvd I had bought done showing Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn, didnt feel inspired, just in awe of these two and what they manage to produce.
Managed the night feeds, tomorrow will be a long one so dont expect a post.
Oh the photos, more of the wreck on Fraser Island, such wonderful outlines and all that rust!!

Queensland book

Here are a few pages of my still to be finished Queensland book.
I have managed to get the cover and the pages together but I still have to fill my pockets and think of a few more things to add.
These are all made using various paper napkins I found while in Queensland and bonded onto some very cheap felt I found in Crazy Clarkes. The frangipani flower was bonded and cut out and the photo has been printed onto some cotton ready for print fabric.
Came home after lots of fruitless looking in Queensland and found exactly what I wanted after I had done it all, tropical Island blowing palm tree, oh well next time.
I have enough paper napkins to start a shop.
I have really loved doing this and I think I may make more. I wonder what my children will think of them when I am no longer here, probably throw them all in the bin, but they will bring back memories for me.
I have made beds, tidied up and managed to feed all the ponies this morning. I hope my back holds out, it feels a bit precious today.
Of course I also thought I had better get together the stuff for my class in Ballarat, well first I coudnt find the magnetic clasps I had bought for the class as our teacher had asked if I could get some, found them after I had tidied up 3/4's of the room, I still cant find my heat gun and heat sticks, I have no idea what has bedcome of them. Still it wont cost me much to buy some more and the old one was getting pretty battered.
I wonder if I clean up the other work room if I will find them.
Very warm today, 34 degrees at least and not much fun getting all the beds organised, but now they are done I should be able to relax a bit.
I will dust and clean tomorrow.

The beds we slept in

The best was the one up first here but the last one we slept in, our lovely rather Japanese one at the Kingfisher resort on Fraser Island. Although we were over a swamp not a mosquito to be heard, or a midge on our verandah.
Then the dear little room at 1770, the only major problem was no bedside light but I did have a torch and the loo was just down the hall.
I dont think there were mozzies there either and I didnt get bitten by a midge but others did so i sprayed the room well.
Finally the one at the Capricorn Resort, looks ok, you cant see the moisture on the floor or walls, but note I did have the door onto the balcony open. At least we had a rug around the bed or all the bedclothes would have been wet and acted like a wick.
Sorry I didnt post yesterday, a long and busy day but I did get to play with Mason.
Today Adelaide and a rather depressing visit to my mother. She really does seem to be going down hill but we have said that before and she has come good. So awful to see her so tired.